At last, New World prevails

Vi June, Reckonings

Posted
3/19/13

At last we have a down-to-earth pope who walks the walk and talks the talk.

I hope you took the time last week to view all the pageantry, pomp and circumstance surrounding the election of our new pope, Pope Francis. I sat in front of the TV for hours waiting for the “white smoke” signal that a new pope had been elected.

And the “white smoke” was reinforced by the pealing of the Vatican bells telling the world a new era had begun and a pope from the New World had been selected.

It’s true

You probably won’t believe this but it’s true. I predicted three days earlier that Argentina Jorge Mario Bergoglio would be the next pope. I told my son Dan and wife Susie what the outcome would be.

For some unexplained reasoning I thought it came to me in a dream but something else told me it would be the Argentina cardinal.

Best of all worlds

Regardless of your faith and religion you can’t beat the Catholic Church for solemnity and dignity. It was a sight to behold to see 155 cardinals all in brilliant red robes. One also had to acknowledge the elderly image of nearly every one of them. Pope Francis is 76 years old.

A New World

Will it be a reign of frugality and a genuine concern for the poor? Let’s hope so. Taking the name of Francis, patterned after St. Francis of Assisi who worked among the poor, was a brilliant move.

In the Latin American countries 70 percent of the faithful are Catholic but the Evangelicals are rapidly growing in population. Pope Francis will have to deal with that issue, child and sexual abuse within and a myriad of other issues which have been festering for a lot of years.

Will the charismatic new pope be able to turn this aging ship around? I hope so.

For openers

It was downright refreshing to hear our Holy Trinity parish priest speak about the adulteress woman in the gospel and repeat over and over, “where was the man?” Why wasn’t he equally responsible? It’s the kind of sermon we need more of.

Quote of the Week

“Come to America”

To borrow a Neil Diamond lyric we really mean it when we say “Come to America”. We’ll welcome you with open arms.

Stay well, stay involved and stay tuned.

Vi June is past Democratic state representative for House District 35. She is a former mayor of Westminster and a former newspaper publisher. A Westminster resident for more than four decades, she and her husband, Bob, have five grown children and eight grandchildren.